Will Smith Turned Down Role in ‘Django Unchained’

Will Smith was initially rumored to be in talks for the role of Django when production began in 2011 on Quentin Tarantino’s slavery-era film “Django Unchained,” but the part eventually went to Jamie Foxx.

Smith has now confirmed that he was offered the part first, but rejected it over concerns Christoph Waltz’s bounty hunter character was the better role.

He tells Entertainment Weekly, “Django wasn’t the lead, so it was like, I need to be the lead. The other character was the lead!… I was like, ‘No, Quentin, please, I need to kill the bad guy!’”

Waltz went on to win a Best Supporting Actor Oscar for his role as Dr. King Schultz, but Smith insists he is not bitter about missing out on a part in the film.